Shirin Jaafari is a reporter for The World focusing on the Middle East. She has covered conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Ukraine. Her reporting focuses on current events, politics, conflict and human rights. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Harvard’s Extension School. Before joining The World, Shirin worked for the BBC in Washington, DC. Shirin was a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2009 and she received an honorable mention from the Gracie Award in 2022 for her coverage of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.When not filing for radio, she can be found hiking and camping in the mountains.You can find her on Twitter @Shirinj.
‘We are experiencing a taste of freedom’: Syrians react to President Bashar al-Assad’s downfall
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country and, for the first time in two decades, Syrians say they are experiencing a taste of freedom. Assad brutally repressed a popular uprising, which started in 2011. His forces killed, tortured and imprisoned those who spoke out against the government. Some Syrians share about what his departure means to them.
1 year since the start of Israel’s attacks in Gaza, life is dire
Almost a year into Israel’s campaign to eradicate Hamas in Gaza, life there continues to be dire. Some 42,000 have been killed, according to health officials, and those who have survived lack basic necessities like shelter, food and clean water. Health care and humanitarian workers say they struggle to provide care in the face of daily Israeli bombardments and red tape.
Syrian refugees in Lebanon face growing restrictions and deportation
Thirteen years since Syria’s civil war broke out, Lebanon remains home to the largest Syrian refugee population per capita in the world: roughly 1.5 million people. Now, Lebanese politicians say they must be sent home. Many employers have stopped hiring Syrians for menial jobs. And municipalities have issued new restrictions, even evicting Syrian tenants, according to recent news reports.
As Hezbollah buries its fighters, supporters say they are defiant
Hezbollah, the Shia militant group based in Lebanon, has said that Israel has killed about 340 of its fighters since Oct. 7. At a funeral for a Hezbollah fighter who was killed in June, mourners talk about the goals of this so-called “resistance movement.”
